From PhD to the Public: Alternative Career
Prospects and Life Outside Academia
(Roundtable)

Primary Area / Secondary Area

Pedagogy & Professional
/ Interdisciplinary Humanities

Chair(s)

James Rizzi (Tufts University)

Christian Ylagan (Western University)

Abstract

Over the years, the number of PhD graduates and the
number of available permanent academic jobs have gotten increasingly disproportionate.
Wendler et al.’s 2010 study revealed that less than 50% of US PhD graduates
found academic jobs, most of which are unlikely to be full-time positions, and majority
of which go to graduates from universities perceived to be more “prestigious”. Yet these numbers rise
dramatically once one looks outside the hallowed walls of North American universities.
For
example, while it’s estimated that less than 25% of Canadian PhD students will
end up in tenure-track positions (Charbonneau 2011; Tamburri 2010), general industry
employment rates for these graduates are between 90-100%, with an above average
median pay (2013 National Graduates Survey). Being able to translate high-level
academic skills into transformative and profitable careers may therefore yield
significant advantage for graduate students looking to find meaningful life
prospects outside the university.

This roundtable seeks to bridge traditional notions
of post-PhD careers with the material realities of the current job market to open
the possibility that academia and the fields outside it are not mutually
exclusive but can be mutually beneficial. To this end, we invite participants
in non-academic university careers, as well as also those with advanced
academic degrees but who have since transitioned to fields such as policy, advocacy,
commercial publishing, analytic journalism, cultural production, entertainment
media, for-profit research, and non-profit organizations, among others.
Possible discussion points include:

6)
participating
in social entrepreneurship, corporate responsibility, and public
intellectualism;

7)
fostering
liaisons between the university and non-academic organizations.

Description

This roundtable bridges traditional notions
of post-PhD careers with the material realities of the current job market to open
the possibility that academia and the fields outside it are not mutually
exclusive but can be mutually beneficial. We invite participants
in non-academic university careers, as well as also those with advanced
academic degrees but who have since transitioned to fields such as policy, advocacy,
commercial publishing, analytic journalism, cultural production, entertainment
media, for-profit research, and non-profit organizations, among others.